Curriculum

Nurturing the Whole Child

Our motto, “Nurturing the Whole Child”, is the driving force behind everything we do at Darling Downs Christian School. Our focus is not just on academic development, but also the physical, spiritual, emotional and social needs of your child. As such, we offer a multi-faceted curriculum to extensively cover all these dimensions of education.

ACADEMIC

Our curriculum is set within the framework of a Biblical, Christian worldview, relevant for living and learning today.

The school’s academic curriculum is consistent with both State and Federal Government requirements and our students participate and excel in all required government testing.

Core subjects include:

English

Mathematics

Science

History

Geography

LOTE - Japanese

Art

Drama

Primary Music

Health and Physical Education

Religious Education

Our modern Learning Resource Centre and a one-to-one laptop program support the needs of learning in the 21st century. Co-curricular activities such as Academic Competitions, Debating, Choir, Science and Engineering Challenges allow for further extension and personal challenge.

PHYSICAL

For many students, a day at school means a day surrounded by four walls. But the research is clear—students are happier and healthier when they are more connected with the great outdoors.

At Darling Downs Christian School your child will be encouraged to be active and develop their physical abilities. By establishing a balance between academic pursuits and outdoor activities, students develop into well-rounded, confident individuals.

School Camps

Our school camps (Years 4 to 12) are fun and exciting, but also provide unique opportunities to teach academic, personal and social skills. Students are encouraged to take part in challenges that promote an active lifestyle, foster the building of trust and participation and encourage safe risk-taking in controlled contexts. Camp activities include bushwalking, high ropes courses, canoeing, team challenges and a special snow ski trip in secondary school.

Kitchen Garden Program

This program promotes healthy lifestyle choices and teaches primary students from Years 2-6 to grow, harvest and prepare their own seasonal produce each week. Our beautiful garden was designed and built by members of our school community. It also acts as an ‘outdoor classroom’ for a wide range of additional learning opportunities ranging from environmental studies to art.

Agriculture Program

The Secondary School Agriculture Program teaches organic horticultural practices. Students develop skills that enable them to prepare and tend their own gardens both at school and home. They are also given the chance to compete in local agricultural festivals and shows.

HOPE Initiative

Research has shown that outdoor education gives students better concentration skills along with greater creativity and resilience. Young people’s health improves, their self-esteem grows, social skills are enhanced and academic results generally show better progress.

HOPE: Health, Outdoor and Physical Education. Our HOPE program is a core subject for all our students in Years 9 and 10. This program can work in conjunction with a Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award and includes:

Health and physical education—including, setting personal goals in an area of sport, dance or general fitness activities

Special skill development such as practical and social skills or personal interests

SPIRITUAL

The Christian values instilled in our students are reflected in the spiritual atmosphere of our school. These values equip each student to make wise decisions in their day-to-day lives and help to build strength of character for their future.

Our motto, “Nothing Without God”, directs our vision and planning. DDCS teachers and students begin each day with worship and prayer and a holistic biblical studies curriculum, called Encounter, is taught in our classrooms. Students participate in weekly Chapel services and an annual Spiritual Emphasis Week which focuses on spiritual character development.

The school’s chaplains are leaders in our school community and, along with our teaching staff, are a vital part of our Pastoral Care program.

EMOTIONAL & SOCIAL

Darling Downs Christian School is committed to nurturing the emotional and social aspects of your child’s personality and character. Research has found that these real-life skills will directly impact on the degree of success, well-being and healthy relationships that young people experience throughout their life.

You Can Do It

I like You Can Do It because when I apply it to my life it helps me be a better student.

- Hadia (Year 6)

The five foundations of wellbeing and success – Confidence, Organisation, Getting-Along, Perseverance and Resilience – are taught in our classrooms every day.

Darling Downs Christian School is a “You Can Do It – Program Achieve” community, focusing on empowering children to make wise decisions and to develop a sense of responsibility and participation in school life. Our You Can Do It classes are taught from Prep to senior years and give our students the head start they need to become future leaders and contributors in their communities.

STORMCO & SONShip

Darling Downs Christian School promotes a heart for service among our students, by encouraging them to give back to their community through various service programs and projects including Stormco, SONShip and the Hope Program.

Service To Others Really Matters (STORM), so we ensure that every child has opportunities to give back to their community in some way.

Our annual STORMCO trip to Duaringa in central Queensland is open to students who have a desire to serve in rural communities. Duaringa is a significant centre for Aboriginal peoples and there is a former reservation at nearby Woorabinda.

During their week-long visit students run daily Kids Club activities for the local children and undertake maintenance and cleaning of public spaces such as playgrounds, tennis courts and parks. They come home tired but proud and with hearts filled with love and a greater desire to serve.